Putin rubbishes end of world

20 December |
21:25

By Reuters

Moscow - Vladimir Putin is not worried by prophecies the world might end on Friday because he knows it has another 4.5 billion years left.

“I know when the world will end ... In about 4.5 billion years,” the Russian president said in response to a question about the timing of his annual news conference, held on the eve of what according to New Age prophecies might be doomsday.

He explained his calculation by saying the world was at the centre of the Sun's “functioning cycle” of seven billion to 14 billion years, and this meant the Sun would turn into a white dwarf in 4.5 billion years.

“What is there to be afraid of if it's inevitable?” he said.

An era in the Maya Long Count calendar is due to end at sunrise on December 21, an event interpreted by some groups as the end of days. - Reuters